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Ethics
Lawyer accused of spying on Muslim colleagues gives up law license
A lawyer has resigned from the bar after he was accused of spying on his colleagues at an Ohio-based chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization. (Image from Shutterstock)
A lawyer has resigned from the bar after he was accused of spying on his colleagues at an Ohio-based chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization.
The Ohio Supreme Court accepted the resignation of lawyer Romin Iqbal of Dublin, Ohio, on Monday, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
A disciplinary action against Iqbal was pending, but details are sealed in such cases.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer dissented because of the “transparency problem” posed by sealed proceedings. He went on to offer information on Iqbal that is available from public sources, including the Columbus Dispatch.
Iqbal worked with the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for 15 years, including three years in which he was the executive director beginning in 2018. An internal investigation by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found that since at least 2008, Iqbal had provided confidential information about the group to the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
The investigative project is a nonprofit that seeks to expose terrorist organizations. The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups have labeled the project an anti-Islamic hate group.
Iqbal reportedly shared confidential meeting recordings, emails and strategic plans with the investigative project. The Council on American-Islamic Relations fired Iqbal in 2021.
“Iqbal broke the trust and confidentiality of the organization he was working for, and by working directly contrary to that organization’s interests, he opened himself up to disciplinary charges,” Fischer wrote. “For transparency purposes and for the protection of the public, I would not accept Iqbal’s application for retirement or resignation with disciplinary action pending.”
The Columbus Dispatch was unable to reach Iqbal for comment. A lawyer who once represented Iqbal, David Thomas, declined to comment to the publication. The ABA Journal left a message at a phone number for Iqbal listed by the state bar but did not get an immediate response.
Amina Barhumi, the current executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Columbus Dispatch that Iqbal’s resignation from the bar “begins to provide some sort of closure for the community.”
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